RedsMinorLeagues.com 2013 Top Prospects List #11-15

The Good: He has four average or better pitches with a plus slider and above-average fastball. He came out and struck out 54 batters in 37 innings in his initial exposure to professional hitters.

Needs to work on: Control is a bit of a concern as he walked 17 batters in those 37 innings. If his control can improve, he could move quickly but if not he may wind up in the bullpen with more of a two-pitch combo.

2012 Stats

Tm

W

L

ERA

G

SV

IP

H

HR

BB

SO

WHIP

BB%

K%

Billings

3

0

2.68

15

0

37

27

1

17

54

1.19

10.6%

33.8%

Video – Not Available

14. Ismael Guillon – LHP – 20 Years Old – A-

Acquired: NDFA, October 2008

The Good: At times he can feature an above-average to plus fastball to go along with a potentially plus change up and a curveball that he can throw for strikes.

Needs to work on: Control was a problem in Billings, but was not bad while he was in Dayton during the 2012 season. Overall it has been a concern for his career though.

2012 Stats

Tm

W

L

ERA

G

SV

IP

H

HR

BB

SO

WHIP

BB%

K%

Billings

4

1

2.29

11

0

51.0

39

1

24

63

1.24

11.3%

29.6%

Dayton

2

0

2.55

4

0

24.2

22

2

7

27

1.18

7.1%

27.6%

Total

6

1

2.38

15

0

75.2

61

3

31

90

1.22

10.0%

28.9%

Video

13. Jeff Gelalich – OF – 21 Years Old – RK+

Acquired: 1st Round, 2012 Draft

The Good: Gelalich is a strong defender in the corners and profiles to be a solid hitter across the board with average and moderate power.

Needs to work on: It is tough to say anything other than plate discipline, as he played with a hand injury in 2012 that sapped his numbers. His strikeouts were more of an issue than his walks, but how much of that had to do with his hand injury is yet to be seen.

2012 Stats

Tm

PA

2B

3B

HR

RBI

SB

CS

BB

SO

BA

OBP

SLG

Billings

146

7

2

2

9

4

1

14

42

.244

.336

.378

Video – Not Available

12. Chad Rogers – RHP – 22 Years Old – AA

Acquired: 28th Round, 2010 Draft

The Good: He pounds the bottom of the strikezone and generates a high rate of groundballs with an above-average fastball. He can use his above-average slider as an out pitch when he needs a strikeout. While I didn’t see it while he was in Bakersfield, he was throwing a third pitch while in Pensacola leaving open the chance he can remain a starter.

Needs to work on: Developing a third pitch better in order to remain a starter.

2012 Stats

Tm

W

L

ERA

G

SV

IP

H

HR

BB

SO

WHIP

BB%

K%

Bakersfield

6

4

3.15

21

0

111.1

113

11

29

88

1.28

6.3%

19.0%

Pensacola

3

1

1.99

6

0

31.2

27

3

6

23

1.04

5.0%

19.0%

Total

9

5

2.90

27

0

143.0

140

14

35

111

1.22

6.0%

19.0%

Video

11. Tanner Rahier – 3B – 18 Years Old – RK-

Acquired: 2nd Round, 2012 Draft

The Good: Rahier has good power potential and showed off solid plate discipline in his initial exposure to professional baseball.

Needs to work on: He struggled defensively and in a hitter friendly league he did struggle when he put the ball in play to show the raw power and hit tools scouts talk about.

About The Author

Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2004 in one variation or another. You can follow him on twitter @dougdirt24, contact him via email here or follow the site on Facebook. and Youtube.

I’m a believer in Vidal’s bat, and his defense is beyond doubt. If he can hit even .270 as a big leaguer, his pop ans defense will make him a valuable player and starter who can hit 6th, or possibly 2nd if he can walk enough.

Lamarre is similar, except his question is contact. Not much power, but a plus runner, a plus defender, a plus arm, and plus raw tools. I think if they could rework his swing to get rid of that hitch he could hit for much more power.

Rahier has great scouting reports ane good tools. Some thought he was a 1st rd value, and I won’t let rookie ball stats worry me too much about a high schooler.

Lotzkar finally pitched a full season. Even with him obviously wearing down the last 6 weeks or so, it was a huge accomplishment for him. When he was on, he was near unhittable at times. Still has #3 upside and should have better endurance in 2013 as long as he can stay healthy.

Barnhart is Hanigan 2.0, but more athletic. That is a valuanble piece if he can just put bat on ball enough.

Duke, I like your list, pretty similar to how I see our prospects. I probably wouldn’t have Vidal so high though. Love his upside, just hasn’t shown me much consistency with his bat yet. I’m hoping he takes a big step this year. I take it you have Guillion in your top ten?

That’s pretty much who I expected to see there, especially after the last two installments. Although I penciled in Guillon as #10. But with the absence of YRod from the list, and my doubt that Doug would have dropped him completely off the list (especially since Rosa still made it), I fully expect to see him at #9 or #10 tomorrow. I personally would have slotted him 15-20 range because while he has all the tools, he hasn’t put it together on the field.

I think Yorman may have been dropped from the top 25. The top 7 are in stone. Options for spots 8-10 include Henry Rodriguez (a lock), Lotzkar (I would be extremely surprised if he isn’t on the list), Waldrop and Yorman.

19 year olds who hold their own in the Midwest League with plus tools making a Top 10 list? There were all of 9 teenage position players in the league this season who got 139+ at bats (BR strange cut off point for league leaders). Clearly work to do on his part, particularly from the plate discipline standpoint. I think of him more like a Juan Francisco guy. Different package all around, but similar problems.

Chad Rogers had a 19% strikeout rate and is a groundball machine. His K/9 is a tad lower than his strikeout rate would suggest because he doesn’t walk guys. I just see him as a really safe bet to be a quality Major Leaguer (assuming he doesn’t get hurt).

Rosa, Gelalich and Rahier need to show me something before they crack my yop 25. It will be interesting to see if they figure it out next year. By the end of next year we could be really deep at 3B with Rodriguez, Vidal, Brean and Rahier. I think Rodriguez has the lowest ceiling of these 4 but would love to see how Doug ranks their ceilings.

I’m sorry, but I have to talk about Waldrop now, because I’ll be away from a computer for about a week. I can only assume that he has been left out of the Top 25. This guy put up a solid year at Dayton with above average numbers for the league. He has a 2:1 K/BB ratio. And he was only 20 years old. He only negative was a lack of power. He did show some pop, but he does need more. I just can’t see a D1 football recruit not having more power in his 6’3 frame.

I know he’s a corner outfielder only, and he’s rough out there, but the kid is showing the ability to handle the bat. Not being in the top 25 seems like a big miss.

Waldrop is right there on the edge of the Top 25. He seems more fringe 4th outfielder for me though. Not a real standout tool and only solid production to this point. On day one I was asked if it was hard to leave some guys off and I mentioned there were a few outfielders who had you told me before I started making the list I would have said were locks would miss, I wouldn’t have believed it…. Waldrop was among that group along with Jonathan Reynoso and Josh Fellhauer.

Totally agree Doug. Similar production. A year younger. With substantially higher ceiling. It’s not what they are now but what they can become. I’m sure everyone will come back and say I knew he was can’t miss when YRod puts it all together if he does. That’s the fun and the challenge of Prospect Lists though. Pull out the crystal ball.

I like him. Big groundball numbers. Decent strikeout rate for his age and the level he was out. Walks weren’t on either the good or bad side, but with his age and the level he was at, that is good. But, as with most rookie ball guys, I simply haven’t had a chance to see them play as much as the other guys so I don’t have as much confidence in using mostly numbers and second hand scouting reports.

Copyright RedsMinorLeagues.com. All Rights Reserved. RedsMinorLeagues.com is an independent news source and is not affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, Major League Baseball, any of the Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates or Minor League Baseball.